That's a familiar feeling for many of us. For a fleeting few weeks, the temperatures hit that perfect temperature between pouring sweat and bundling layers against the cold. The entire landscape is transformed, as Mother Nature wildly wields her paintbrush, splashing rich, warm colors—flashing golds, crimson reds, blazing oranges and deep purples—across the nation's ample hardwood forests. And then, almost as quickly as it came in, the leaves drop and fall is gone, replaced by a much longer, much colder winter. But what if you could make autumn last from now until Thanksgiving?

While most people associate leaf-peeping with New England, colors change across the country, from Alaska to Georgia. Generally, color appears earliest in northern regions and higher elevations then creeps southward and toward valleys and the coast. It's a three-month-long season, nature's spectacular, traveling road show. You just have to be in the right place at the right time.